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LENEXA, KS - The Raptor RP-1 from Kustom Signals now offers the choice of Ka-Band or K-Band antennas for both vehicle and motorcycle applications.
Raptor RP-1 is the smallest moving Doppler radar system on the market, according to Kustom Signals. This small size allows for more mounting options in a patrol vehicle. The Raptor RP-1 is also small in energy consumption - using only 57 percent of the power required from similar systems.
Raptor RP-1 features patented DuraTrak technology, which incorporates a signal duration tracking algorithm that tracks multiple targets and graphically displays tracking history for strongest and fastest targets. For officers, this means a new level of confidence in target identification and complete tracking history never seen before in a moving radar platform, according to Kustom Signals.
In addition to DuraTrak, the Raptor RP-1 includes two other patented features: TruTrak, which interfaces with the patrol vehicle's speed sensor (VSS) and virtually eliminates patrol shadowing and combining; and Smart Patrol Search (SPS) software used when the speedometer input is not connected to reduce patrol shadowing and combining when coming out of Hold mode.
Complete enforcement control is available from the easy-to-read graphical display with larger speed readings and full text messages. The display also features automatic or manual backlight adjustment with day or night display settings.
The waterproof display, remote and directional K or Ka-band antennas also make the Raptor suitable for motorcycle applications. Raptor for motorcycles comes with a specially designed thumb remote for the handlebar, allowing ease of operation on the road. Mounting kits are available for the BMW R1200RT, Harley Road King, Harley Electra Glide and Honda ST1300P.
Established in 1965, Kustom Signals Inc., a Public Safety Equipment Company, designs and manufactures a complete line of speed enforcement, speed awareness and in-car video systems for law enforcement agencies.
Kustom Signals, Inc., 9325 Pflumm, Lenexa, KS 66215-3347
Tel: (913) 492-1400, Fax: (913) 492-1703, www.kustomsignals.com


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Dear Justin Bieber, Stop Crashing Other People's Concerts!
Justin jumped on stage to perform his hit song 'Baby' with Taylor Swift during her LA concert on Aug. 23. But Tay's not the only one who has been "Kanyed" by Justin.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a Justin Bieber fan. (I'll admit more than one of his songs have made it on to my iPod, although I definitely do not have Bieber fever.) But he needs to stop upstaging his friends' (and girlfriend's) performances!
At Taylor Swift's concert in LA, Justin surprised the audience with a rousing performance of 'Baby,' with Taylor adding backup vocals. Not unexpectedly, the audience went nuts for the Biebs. But since it was Taylor's time to shine, he should have simply sat in his seat and enjoyed the show! Taylor herself even acknowledged that the fans screamed louder for him than her! (Taylor, it seems, is unfortunately becoming the poster girl for stage intruders. See: Kanye West, 2009 MTV VMAs.
But even worse — he did it to his girlfriend, too. Back in July, Selena Gomez brought Justin on stage, prompting screams for the tweenie boppers in attendance. A performance of 'Cry Me A River' later and Justin had the crowd wrapped around his little finger. Poor Selena didn't stand a chance.
It would be one thing if Justin had a duet with the singers — then joining them wouldn't be a big deal. It would actually be welcomed! But he doesn't, so he shouldn't. (Although, we wouldn't complain if he recorded with either Taylor or Selena.)
Surely he's not doing it on purpose, but he has to know the effect he has on young female concert-goers. (And sometimes their mothers.) He should respect the fact that when Taylor and Selena are on stage, the night belongs to them — not him.
Justin, if you're so anxious for fan adoration, go on tour yourself and stop stealing the spotlight from your lady friends!
— Denise Warner
More Justin Biber News!

subset: commoncrawl


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Cook the Book: Tomato and Strawberry Gaspacho
Healthy and Delicious
Healthy and delicious recipes from Serious Eats
The time has come to say goodbye to Vegetable Harvest, this week's featured book. Our final recipe from Patricia Well's potager-inspired cookbook is one that shouldn't tax you too much on the penultimate weekend of summer; it calls for only three ingredients and a blender.
- 1 pound garden-fresh tomatoes, rinsed, cored, and quartered (do not peel)
- 1 pound fresh strawberries, rinsed and stemmed
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
In a food processor or a blender, purée the tomatoes and the strawberries. Add the vinegar, and blend again. Taste for seasoning. Chill thoroughly before serving. Serve in small, clear glasses as a refreshing aperitif.


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Bow PropertiesIt will come as no surprise, in view of the chameleon character of the double bass already described, that its bow displays no less variation in form, material, length, and most of all its weight.
Of the extremely varied forms that were used up until the beginning of the
19th century, the two basic forms, the so-called "French" and "German" models, have crystallised out for the overhand and underhand holds.
A certain consistency has emerged in this respect, too. After every imaginable
kind of wood had been employed for constructing double bass bows up until the 19th century, snakewood and more recently the ironwood favoured in the Baroque have become established in addition to pernambuco. For the frog, ebony, snake-
wood and ivory/mammoth are used. However, new tendencies are emerging in the hi-tech area, with carbon fibre models being developed. White hair is normally used, but a minority of double bass players swear by the rather more powerful black hair.
A specific length has become established as a standard, but here, too, there is much controversy even today. A longer bow is often required for solo playing than for orchestral performance (e.g. by Bottesini). Gustav Laska (1847-1928) wrote on this subject: "Now, a few words about the bow. The double bass bow previously had a very short form, unsuitable for long slurs and sustained notes. Many years ago, I conceived the idea of having a double bass bow as long as a violin bow made for me. This idea of mine has since found such resonance that the numerous imitations form a sufficient recommendation of its advantages."
Neither has any consensus so far been reached in the question of the weight of the bow, so contradictory were and are the points of view. F.C. Franke wrote
tage." August Müller (1808-1867) was absolutely insistent on the use of a heavy bow, and was amazed "that anyone can have any doubt about the matter".


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Jackson is the executive director of the Queens Library Langston Hughes branch in Corona and has been there for 30 years.
His journey to the top started as he looked for a job in Business Administration. But as he started to work with the library, familiarizing himself with its Black Heritage Collection, the largest in the state, he felt a tug to look toward a part of him rooted in his culture. He soon went on to obtain his Master's in library science from Queens College.
"I never thought I'd be a librarian," he said. "This career chose me and I've been here ever since."
Jackson now travels around the state and the country doing outreach on black studies, teaching at York College and promoting his branch, which is not just a library but also a cultural institution that served as a model for many other libraries around the nation.
Jackson published a book last August, "Queens Notes: Facts About the Forgotten
Borough of Queens New York."
Born out of a research project at Queens College, it showcases many notable facts about Queens like the borough's jazz history and famous names that call the borough their home, like Madonna, John Coltrane and John Leguizamo.
Jackson is also working on other writing projects in addition to fulfilling his librarian duties.
"I'm having way too much fun to leave. Maybe one day, when I find out its work, I'll probably leave."


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He stood 70-487 there for a 9A0-385 long time. Tami Joan 101-400 and John desperately retreated until they reached the other side of the door, holding two 300-101 sweaty bodies tightly 352-001 together. The drivers hand bent into the shape of a cup, blocking the lights shone on the street light, looked at them more carefully. Most Reliable Microsoft 70-981 PDF Download With Accurate Answers , Suddenly, a loud noise echoed in the air. Tameron 350-060 could not help but constricted a 70-332 while, and John made MB6-702 a short, screaming scream. Behind the driver, the air in the distance was filled with bright red and blue flame stripes instantly. Then again is a few roar and scream. The driver turns and Provide New Cisco 200-125 Tests Sale , looks up, just to see a huge, orange-red JN0-343 cobweb over the city. It was a fireworks, and Tamie remembered the news read 101-400 in the newspaper. It is a gift from the 70-412 host and the Secretary-General of the United Nations to the delegates attending the conference and 200-125 welcomes them to this great 70-487 city on Earth. The driver turned toward the taxi again. 70-981 Pat soon, he opened the door lock, slowly opened the door. 2 As usual, the informant did not leave a name. Therefore, there is no other way to pour back into the past to understand what 642-997 the reporter said is 101-400 a piece of open space. The headquarters radio said He said it was on the 37th Street near Eleventh JN0-343 Street. Those at 70-412 the Notification Center never figured out where the exact location of the murder was. Although it is nine oclock in the morning, it has made people sweat more than MB6-702 MB6-702 hot. Emilia Shakes lay aside a tall grass thatch. MB6-702 She is conducting a search of light – a jargon of crime scene investigators – searching for suspicious objects with an S-shaped route. Nothing at all She looked down at the intercom on the dark blue uniform shirt. Patrolman 5885 calls 70-332 headquarters without any notice. Do you have any further news The dispatcher replied in 642-997 a bumpy noise 5885, there is no more 70-981 information about the scene of the crime at the moment, but one thing The Prepare for the Microsoft 70-487 Q&As Is Updated Daily , informant said he hoped the victim was dead. Please say it again, headquarters. The complainant said he hoped the victim was already dead. He said it would 350-060 be best if so. Finished. Hopefully the victim Dead Shakes struggled across a broken barbed wire and began searching for another piece of open space. Still not found. She wants to leave. Just call 10-90, report that without any discovery, you can return to the Si Si area, it is her daily patrol area. Her knees hurt and she felt as if she had 70-412 been roasted on 70-332 a terrible August day. She just wanted to slip to the Port Authority and get stuck with the Little Furrier there and come back 350-060 to a large can of Arizona iced tea. Then, at eleven thirty – just two hours now – she was able to clear the drawers in the south section of Midtown and go to the lower town for training. But she finally did not do this. She can not leave this briefing without answering the phone Most Reliable Adobe 9A0-385 Demo Free Download Latest Version PDF&VCE , call. As she continued to move on, she 642-997 walked along the hot sidewalk through the path between the two abandoned apartments and into another covered, planted area. She slid her slender forefinger down into her flat-top hat and scratched it with irresistible restraints through layers Prepare for the Microsoft MB6-702 Practise Questions For Download , of long, red hair on her head. In order to scratch more scalp, she simply faded her cap side, while crazy scratch. Sweat streaming down her forehead, itchy, so she fiercely blew a few brows. She was thinking Only the last two hours of patrolling in the street were available, and I could survive. Shakes continued. The first time she felt uneasy this morning as JN0-343 she 70-487 walked into a bush. Someone is watching me. The hot wind blew through the dry bushes and made the rustling sound. A car truck ran 70-981 full MB6-702 steam ahead of the Lincoln Tunnel. She remembered one thing the patrolmen would often think of the city was so noisy that I could not detect Free Download Real Juniper JN0-343 Questions Will Be More Popular , 200-125 if someone came back 200-125 to me behind me and walked to lift me up with a knife. Or take 9A0-385 my back as a target She turned quickly. Nothing except leaves, rusty machines and rubbish. When climbing a pile of stones, the knee pain 70-412 so she could not help but shrink 300-101 body. Emily Shakes, 31, is afflicted with joint inflammation – her mother often says youre 31 It 9A0-385 is Helpful Microsoft 70-412 Real Exam With New Discount , inherited from 9A0-385 her grandfather, just as she inherited her mothers good figure, her fathers good looks and occupation as long as the red hair no one can say it. She slowly passed through a cluster of dead shrubs, a sharp pain on her knees. Thanks to her prompt closing, she did not drop a steep 30-foot deep slope. Below her was a gloomy gorge that cut deeply through the bottom of the West 101-400 End. The railroad tracks of the U.S. Railroad Passenger 352-001 Transport Company run through the canyon and the train goes to the north. She narrowed her eyes and looked to 642-997 the bottom of the canyon not far Useful Cisco 352-001 Certification Braindumps Is Updated Daily , from the tracks. what is that Is inserted in a circle of 300-101 soil has been turned 352-001 over the twigs It looks like Europe, my god The sight of her made her shiver. Nausea suddenly rose, burning like a flame burning her skin. For a moment she really wanted to turn around and escape, 101-400 pretended nothing was seen. But she tried hard to suppress the idea in my heart. He hopes the victim is dead. This is the best. She runs to an iron staircase that leads from the sidewalk to the canyon. She stopped in time as she grabbed the balustrade 352-001 of the iron staircase. bad The murderer has escaped in all likelihood, and is likely to have left the ladder. If she touches the railings, she may undermine the mark he left behind when he ran away. Okay, then well 200-125 300-101 waste something. She took a deep breath and held back the pain of the knee joint. She inserted the JN0-343 deliberately polished bright boot into the crevice of the stone on the first day of her new job and began to climb down the rock wall. She was still four feet off the ground and Experts Revised Microsoft 70-332 Real Questions Answers Is Your Best Choice , jumped straight to the place where it was buried. My 70-412 God It is 70-332 not a branch that extends from under the ground it is a mans hand. The body of this man 300-101 70-487 350-060 was buried vertically in 350-060 the earth, leaving only the arm, wrist and palm left outside. She stared at the ring finger of the hand all the muscles had been cut off, the red of the bones of the fingers, set with a huge female diamond ring. Shakes knelt on the ground, began digging down. The soil fluttered under her hands JN0-343 as a dog. She found that those fingers that had not been 70-981 cut were wide open, pointing in the direction that their fingers would not normally Sale Discount Lpi 101-400 Exam Are The Best Materials , bend. This shows that the victim was still alive when the last shovel of 70-981 mud buried his face. Maybe its still alive now. Shakes desperately 70-487 dug soft soil, her hands were shattered by pieces of glass, dark red blood and dark red soil mixed together. This persons hair is exposed, followed by a bluish, gray forehead due to lack of oxygen. She continued digging until she saw the dull eyes and mouth of the man. The mans mouth twisted into horrible curvature, indicating that in the last few seconds of life the victim struggled to keep his mouth through the rising black soil. This is not a woman. Despite the finger on the set of a diamond ring. He was a big man in his fifties and was as angry as 200-125 the soil 100% Pass Guarantee Cisco 300-101 Real Testing with PDF and VCE Engine , surrounding him. She took a few steps back, 642-997 her gaze never leaving that person, almost tripped over by the 352-001 tracks behind her. For a while, her mind was empty and could not think of anything, only knowing that a man was buried to die like 70-332 this. Then she reminded herself Be strong, baby. In front of you is the scene of a homicide together, and you are the first police officer present. You know 9A0-385 what to 50% Discount Cisco 642-997 Dump With High Quality , do ADAPT, adapt. A is the current arrest of Arrest. D is a major eyewitness and suspect to Detain. Download Cisco 350-060 Brain Demos With New Discount , A is Assess murder scene. P is P what is it She bowed her head towards the walkie-talkie Patrolman 5885 calls headquarters.
|© 2011 Loreto Exim srl
|Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha


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WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday that factors which have kept the economy from accelerating appear to be abating, and he predicted stronger growth in 2014.
Americans' finances have improved and the outlook for home sales is brighter, Bernanke said. He also expects less drag from federal spending cuts and tax increases.
The combination "bodes well for U.S. economic growth in coming quarters," Bernanke said during a speech to the annual meeting of the American Economic Association in Philadelphia.
Bernanke made a similar assessment of the economy at a Dec. 18 news conference after the Fed's last meeting. At the meeting, the Fed announced it would begin in January to reduce its monthly bond purchases from $85 billion to $75 billion, noting signs of an improving economy.
The bond purchases are intended to keep long-term interest rates low and encourage more borrowing and spending.
Friday's appearance was expected to be one of Bernanke's final speeches as Fed chairman. He is stepping down at the end of this month after eight years leading the central bank.
The Senate is expected to confirm Janet Yellen Monday to be the next Fed chairman. She would take over on Feb. 1.
In his speech, Bernanke said that he tried to make the Fed more transparent and accountable while at the same time combating a deep recession and severe financial crisis.
Making the Fed more transparent was an important goal for him when he took over in 2006. He cited his participation in more television interviews, his efforts to hold more town hall meetings and his visits to universities. Bernanke also added a quarterly news conference after four of the Fed's eight policy meetings.
"We took extraordinary measures to meet extraordinary economic challenges and we had to explain those measures to earn the public's support and confidence," Bernanke said.
Bernanke said while the financial crisis has passed "the Fed's need to educate and explain will only grow."
(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Authorized sellers may start threads here to sell or auction Pokemon Trading Cards. READ the RULES to avoid problems, locks and deletions!
This site is owned and operated by Team Compendium, Inc.
All content is © 2000-2011 Team Compendium, Inc.
The PokeGym is not affiliated with The Pokémon Company, International
or any anime or video game companies.


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- deposition temperature (1) (remove)
Faculty / Organisational entity
- Fachbereich Physik (1) (remove)
Epitaxial growth of metastable Pd(001) at high deposition temperatures up to a critical thickness of 6 monolayers on bcc-Fe(001) is reported, the critical thickness being depending dramatically on the deposition temperature. For larger thicknesses the Pd film undergoes a roughening transition with strain relaxation by forming a top polycrystalline layer. These results allow to make a correlation between previ-ously reported unusual magnetic properties of Fe/Pd double layers and the crystallographic structure of the Pd overlayer.


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Georgia Legislature Passes Concussion Bill | Health
The law that cleared the state legislature Tuesday regulates how coaches, athletes, and healthcare professionals manage concussions.
The Senate passed what's called the "Return to Play Act". The House also approved it at the end of last month.
Jeff Hopp, member of the Georgia Concussion Coalition, helped put together the legislation and hopes it will help more than just the athletes.
"It should make life a lot easier for the healthcare providers," he says, "because hopefully the education part will get out there and we can focus on taking care of the athletes and the health and welfare of the athletes, and not have to worry about 'are the parents and are the athletes or are the coaches, are they going to know what to do, how to handle things, what they're looking at,' That sort of thing."
The act has three main points. The first is education.
Every year, coaches will go through training on what to do if their player takes a concussive hit.
Players and their parents will also have to read and sign an information sheet outlining all of the signs, symptoms, and dangers of concussions.
Hopp says, "That's still a little up in the air on who is going to be monitoring that. That is something that will have to be hashed out yet. I think it will be left up to the individual associations to make sure that happens. I know as for the Georgia High School Association, I would expect that will be something just included with the pre-participation physicals that are already required."
The bill also says if a player shows any signs of a concussion, the coach must take them out, and they can't return until they've been cleared by a licensed physician or any medical professional acting under one. That could mean a certified athletic trainer, nurse practitioner, or physician's assistant.
Hopp says this is to eliminate healthcare providers who don't have training in evaluating concussions from making the return to play decision.
The bill now heads to the governor's desk. If he signs off, it will take effect at the beginning of next year.


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Greg Borzo believes, and rightly so, that much of our city's history "hides in plain sight."
There is, for instance, the small building in the accompanying photo, Borzo standing near it.
Sitting prominently at 5529 S. Lake Park Ave. in Hyde Park, indeed serving as headquarters for the Hyde Park Historical Society, this building is seen by thousands of motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians every day.
How many of them know what it is, or more important, what it was?
This piece first ran in Printers Row Journal, delivered to Printers Row members with the Sunday Chicago Tribune and by digital edition via email. Click here to learn about joining Printers Row.
A very informal survey of a couple of dozen people passing by one early April afternoon was not surprising: Not one of them knew that this was once a waiting room for the 55th Street cable car, built early in 1893 for the crowds attending the World's Columbian Exposition.
This is the sort of thing that bugs Borzo.
"Cable cars have not only been ignored and removed from the historical record," Borzo says. "They were considered old and rickety, not part of the modern, up-to-date image that Chicago wanted to project. This story is virtually unknown today, even among Chicago history buffs."
Well, not exactly and no longer, thanks to his new, exhaustively researched, deftly written and handsomely illustrated book, "Chicago Cable Cars."
In the book's foreword, Jacob Kaplan, editor/co-founder of the fascinating website forgottenchicago.com, writes, "Chicago never would have become such a boomtown if local residents could not have gotten to the factory gate, office tower or department store."
Borzo's book takes us back to the start, precisely, to Jan. 28, 1882, "a cold, blustery day" when both sides of State Street from Madison Street to 21st Street were packed. "Crowds estimated from 50,000 to an improbable 300,000 waited hours with great anticipation to witness the first cable car trains pass by."
Less than 200 pages and 25 years later, the end comes on Oct. 21, 1906, when "Chicago's very last cable train met its inglorious end traveling south from downtown on the Cottage Grove Avenue line to the 39th Street car barn."
Packed into those years are all manner of revelations. Did you know that Chicago had the biggest cable car system in the world? Were you aware that the cable cars carried more than 1 billion passengers, everyone from architect Daniel Burnham to mass murderer Henry Howard Holmes, the two "stars" of the book "The Devil in the White City"? Have you even a clue about how a cable car works? You will find out in this book, as well as learning how Chicago (not San Francisco) inspired the building of cable car systems in two dozen other cities.
There is crime: "All those nickels attracted the attention of thieves as well," Borzo writes before introducing us to what he calls "Chicago's first celebrity criminals," known as the Car Barn Bandits and called by the city police chief "the most reckless and daring quartet of youthful desperadoes that ever operated in Chicago or vicinity."
There are other characters, none more colorful than Charles Tyson Yerkes, who arrived here from Philadelphia in 1882 and became "Chicago's Cable Czar" as well as the "Goliath of Graft." His legacy, if not his name, remains part of the urban landscape.
Borzo does a terrific job of detailing some remnants of the cable car system. In addition to the Hyde Park waiting room, you can go see, as Borzo writes, "vestiges (that) vary from buildings to the lack of buildings; from track structures hidden underground to cable cars on display at museums; from a simple wisp of a cable car ticket for sale on eBay to an impressive observatory equipped with the largest refracting telescope in the world."
Many of these remnants are captured in the book's lovely photographs by Jonathan Michael Johnson. They include a former cable car storage barn on South Blue Island Avenue and a cable car powerhouse at LaSalle and Illinois Streets (once Michael Jordan's Restaurant, later the LaSalle Power Co., an entertainment complex, and sold in late March to a local real estate investment group).
Borzo's passion for place and places is palpable.
He is a Chicago native, a child of the Northwest Side who left for a while to get a degree in cultural anthropology from Grinnell College in Iowa. He later received a master's in journalism from Northwestern University.
He has lived the writer's life, working or writing for such publications and institutions as Modern Railroads Magazine and The Field Museum. He was one of the authors of "The Windies' City: Chicago's Historical Hidden Treasures," a gathering of some favorite "field trips" of the Chicago History Museum's docents; "The Chicago 'L,'" a history that also features the inimitable Yerkes; and in 2011, "Where to Bike Chicago: Best Biking in City and Suburbs," containing more than 70 rides (27 for kids) across Chicago and the suburbs.
The book, as always with Borzo's work, is peppered with history, offering us this winning nugget: When Carter Harrison II was running for mayor in 1897, his campaign slogan was, "Not a champion cyclist, but the cyclists' champion."
He won.
Rick Kogan is a Tribune senior writer and columnist.
Chicago Cable Cars
By Greg Borzo, The History Press, 192 pages, $24.99


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Inbound Marketing Attracts Millions from Google, Salesforce and SequoiaBlog Post: March 08, 2011
I'm in the same boat; I used HubSpot for about a year and a half before switching to SEOmoz. My main reasons for switching:
Level of SEO expertise: HubSpot's tools, knowledgebase and consultants (in my experience) are focussed on small businesses just getting started with online marketing. While HubSpot was good for getting the SEO ball rolling, I felt like I quickly outgrew the level of technical SEO support I could get through their tools and support forum. This is probably not an issue for 90% of their users, but if you already have some SEO background, you'll probably be underwhelmed.
Stickyness of their Tools: To really get the most out of HubSpot, you have to use their website, blog and form content management systems. These tools, and the way they integrate, can provide you with some great tracking on your visitors/lead, and could be very helpful for small businesses without technical resources. However, if you decided to drop the service, you lose your blog, website and forms. To me, I could not afford to be that tied to a single solution.
Customer Service: HubSpot has is run and made up by some very smart and fun people. In my experience, they were also very busy people.
SEOmoz's Progressiveness in Developing SEO Tools: The tool I most missed most in dropping HubSpot was their keyword grader tool (which tracks level of competition, estimated traffic, and your ranking in one view). When we made the switch, SEOmoz was still working on their Pro dashboard and still developing their keyword competition tool. However, from the other free SEOmoz tools I had demoed, I could tell you guys were doing some great things, and that your SEO-specific tools would soon surpass the SEO-specific tools I had been using with HubSpot. So major kudos, and keep up the great development work!
Cost: Just sayin'
All that said, glad to hear of HubSpot's success; it should help continue to drive the field of organic SEO forward.


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SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- It may come as no surprise at such a tradition-laden school as Notre Dame that the new uniforms the school unveiled Tuesday look a lot like the old ones.
The uniforms, designed by Under Armour, Notre Dame's new apparel manufacturer, feature the traditional look of the old Adidas uniforms -- same numbering, same trim, some color patterns.
Sometimes at Notre Dame, simple and understated has served it the best. Many fans may remember several bad experiments Adidas made with alternate jerseys involving both the football and basketball teams. (Lime green, anyone?)
The cleats are blue and gold and mesh well with the jerseys while the Under Armour logo is feature on both the shirt and the pants.
Under Armour will unveil the Irish's Shamrock Series alternate jerseys later this afternoon, so there's still time for Under Armour to mess it all up.


text: The mechanical engineering program at Cal Maritime has two options that students may follow to obtain their degree. Both options result in a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering, and provide students with strong hands-on experiences and an international experience to complement their engineering education. Both options have the same core ME curriculum, and were defined to maintain the mission of the academy and the four objectives of intellectual learning, applied technology, global awareness and leadership. Also, both options are essentially identical in the first year, allowing students to explore their interests before deciding upon an option. All students, regardless of their option, are part of the Corps of Cadets, which is the focal point for the leadership facet of our mission.


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<![CDATA[In 2011, it was The Duchess of Cambridge's wedding dress that saw tourists flock to Buckingham Palace. The Ball Room set up for a State Banquet was the exclusive showing for 2008. And this summer, when Her Majesty The Queen leaves for Balmoral for her summer holiday, Buckingham Palace will stage a brand new exhibition in the State rooms: Royal Childhood.
Since George III made the Palace a family home in 1761, the infamous London landmark has seen numerous births and christenings of Royal children, including all 4 of Queen Elizabeth's children. Victoria even had another wing built in 1845 to accommodate her growing brood, which reached 9 in total, and so there are many plenty of items to exhibit, charting the history of Royal babies for over 250 years.
The display, open from 26 July – 28 September, comes from the Royal Collection and the Royal Archive, no doubt inspired by the birth of Prince George last year.
The collection gives us a glimpse of how childhood works for the Royals, who, in the past often had very different upbringings to the rest of the country; it includes toys that heirs to the throne played with, and both official gifts to Royal children, as well as family gifts, like a woollen blanket for Princess Alice, embroidered by her mother, Queen Victoria.
Some of the interesting items to go on display include: Prince William's sailor suit, worn as a page-boy at the Duke of York's wedding; a small pair of velvet shoes for an 8-month-old Prince Albert (future Edward VII); a dolls' house created by a carpenter on the Royal Yacht for George III's daughters; George III's silver rattle from his governess, used by all his children and the christening gown that Prince George wore last year at his christening (a replica of the original Victorian lace gown).
The silver-gilt Lily Font will be displayed in the Music Room, where Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince William were baptized. This font was made for Princess Victoria, Queen Victoria's first child, in 1841, and has been used for the majority of Royal christenings ever since, including Prince George's in October last year.
A number of Princess Elizabeth's childhood toys will also go on display: a rabbit shaped tea set, a wicker pram for dolls, as well as rocking horses belonging to Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, bearing rosettes with their initials.
One of the most spectacular pieces will be a recreation of a play-house kitchen. The kitchen is part of a miniature thatched cottage, with electricity and water, given to a 6-year-old Princess Elizabeth by the people of Wales on the occasion of her birthday and was constructed at Royal Lodge, Windsor. It is still used by the youngest of the Royal Family today.
Clothes and toys are not the only items that will be displayed: never before seen family photos and films of Royals as children will be shown, making this an exhibition not to be missed, for Royalists and London tourists alike.
Proceeds from entry will go to the upkeep of Royal Palaces.
A Souvenir book will also be available to purchase, titled: 'Royal Childhood: A Souvenir Album', including pictures and descriptions of the displays.
photo credit: Royal Collection Trust, (C) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014]]>


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A prelude to the Carolina Heirlooms series, this is contemporary women's fiction set on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Now seriously, go look it up, because how is it even possible that people live on this thin string of islands that circles the mainland far out to sea? It's a popular tourist destination because of the subtropical climate and endless beachfront, but it also is hammered by hurricanes and was once nicknamed the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" because of the number of shipwrecks that have occurred there. What a unique location for the setting of these novels! This novella was a great 'amuse-bouche' for the collection, which I will surely carry on with because I am hooked!
Elizabeth Gallagher is devastated when she believes she may have made a tragic error at work as a 911 operator where she lives in Michigan. In addition to that there are worries and conflicts at home, and she feels she is falling apart at the seams. A trip to Hatteras Island on the Outer Banks is unexpected and turns out quite differently than she had imagined!


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Beginning in the second half of the 20th century, Western culture developed a fixation on bringing ugliness out of the ruins of loveliness, at least when it comes to the rebuilding of churches destroyed in wars or natural disasters. We can all point to some examples of how these shotgun weddings between prelate and architect in recent decades usually turned out to be an unhappy ones for the rest of us to behold. So with a significant new church-building project beginning to take shape in Haiti, which will no doubt garner a great deal of international attention, one cannot help but wonder whether what will rise from the ashes of that country will be not a glorious phoenix, but rather a marauding cuckoo.
The reader is no doubt familiar with the mythological phoenix, a bird which sets itself on fire in order to produce an egg. After this self-destruction, a magnificent offspring hatches and rises from the ashes, symbolizing new life coming from death. This is one reason why the phoenix was adopted very early on in Christian iconography as a symbol which would remind the viewer of how Jesus rose from the dead.
Of course from ornithology we know that no species of bird actually comes into the world in this way, but we do know about the rather curious way that a cuckoo is hatched. Many species of cuckoo lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, in what is known as parasitic brooding. When the fledgling cuckoo hatches, it kills its adopted siblings in the nest, or the cuckoo's "birth parents" will kill the other little birds for it. [N.B.: Next time you smile at the charm of hearing the chirping of a cuckoo clock, you might think about that gentle bit of nature.]
After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, international relief focused on caring for the physical needs of those who survived it. Burying the dead, tending to the wounded, and feeding, clothing, and sheltering the survivors were of primary importance. Infrastructure had to be rebuilt, services restored, and the like, in a desperately poor country which never really had much of these things to begin with. At the same time however, the majority Catholic population of Haiti needed to have their spiritual needs attended to, since food rations and water alone do not provide hope for something beyond surviving the next 24 hours.
The losses to the Haitian Catholic community as a result of the earthquake were staggering. Not only was the historic Cathedral in Port-au-Prince completely destroyed, along with many other churches, but so were the offices of the Archdiocese and the Apostolic Nunciature, i.e. the Vatican embassy. Even more tragically, the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, the Vicar-General of the Archdiocese, and dozens of seminarians were among those killed in the disaster.
More than two years have passed since the earthquake, and now an architectural competition is underway to submit designs for a new Cathedral in Port-au-Prince. A look at the photographs displayed on the website for the competition reveals the extent of the devastation of the old building, and why it is almost certainly impossible to rebuild the cathedral to look as it was before the disaster. According to the competition site, the destruction was made all the more complete by the theft of metal from the ruins of the Cathedral, including the zinc frames holding the few remaining stained glass windows that might otherwise have been preserved.
Part of me wishes that the place could be rebuilt, since it was such a lovely and appropriate building. It was a very feminine, graceful church, mixing Victorian Neo-Gothic with some of the fantastical elements we see in contemporary French churches of the time, such as the Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Paris. And the pastel pink and white color scheme used both on the interior and exterior of the building spoke of its Caribbean heritage.
However this is not to be, and if recent examples are anything to go by, I am afraid the Haitian people had better prepare themselves for the arrival of a rather ugly hatching in their midst. For example, the once-majestic Coventry Cathedral in England, which was destroyed during World War II, was replaced with a dark, oppressive, brick and concrete monstrosity. The lavishly-decorated Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin, which was also destroyed in World War II, received two utterly godless glass boxes which are locally referred to as the "lipstick case" and "powder box", since they look like late 50's/early 60's accessories from a lady's purse.
A recent example from this side of the pond is perhaps my personal favorite – if "favorite" is the right word for such horrors. Even before he used the excuse of damage from the 1994 Northridge Quake in California, Cardinal Mahoney of Los Angeles had been trying to have the lovely old Cathedral of St. Vibiana demolished, so that he could build something more in keeping with his appallingly bad taste on the same site. After years of legal battles with the city, historic preservation groups, his own parishioners, and so on, the Archdiocese finally obtained land nearby, on which was built a monstrosity popularly known as the Taj Mahoney. The lovely old Cathedral was de-consecrated, and turned into a local community cultural center – which, by the way, is still standing just fine, thanks very much.
I will admit that I am, to some degree, rolling out the "jump to conclusions mat" with regard to this design competition for the new Cathedral in Port-au-Prince. After all, the submissions have not even been entered yet, let alone the three finalists selected. And once a winner is chosen, it will still take many years and many millions of dollars in fundraising to build the winning design.
That being said, it is important to keep in mind that churches are not structures which are built every day. They are first and foremost buildings whose purpose is to glorify God, and serve as a place to worship Him. From a practical standpoint a cathedral, which is the church that serves as the seat of the local bishop, is a monumental undertaking, particularly when it is being built in a country's capital. Cathedrals always feature prominently in both the religious and secular life of a city, not only in their primary role as the House of God, but also as venues for the Church to receive and meet with members of the local community and with civic authorities.
Before anything gets decided, those who make the final selection for this competition should keep in mind not only the past and the future of Haiti, but also the unique opportunity they have to build something beautiful and inspiring that will last for centuries. Anyone who looks at the three examples I gave in this post and concludes that the replacements were better than the originals should not be allowed anywhere near a voting slip in this matter. A country like Haiti, which is so much in need of hope after unimaginable devastation and sadness, ought not to put its resources into building something that is trendy now, and then maligned less than a generation later. In looking to the future, I would challenge the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince to remember that over the past 2,000 years, time and again history has shown that the most glorious, lasting, and well-loved houses of worship are those which seek to put God first.
Cathedral of The Assumption, prior to the 2010 earthquake
Port-au-Prince, Haiti


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Schilling's list: One is the loneliest number
After 18 months in office, City Council's lone Republican, Rob Schilling, continues to find himself on the losing end of the council's votes.
That didn't stop Schilling from making proposals at the January 5 meeting that he says will increase citizen participation in government.
Schilling chose the moment when City Council discussed appointing a task force to look at moving its elections from May to November, and he proposed three items to be added to the task force's mission:
* a mayor directly elected by citizens rather than by City Council;
* councilors elected by wards rather than at-large, and
* more councilors, increasing the number from five to seven.
His fellow councilors voted him down, by the now-familiar score of 4-1. Schilling fired back that the current system is elitist, where only the rich and self-employed can afford to run for office.
"It stinks," says Schilling of council's rejection of his proposal package. "I don't think it makes sense not to not look at it. We're set up to be an elite group run by the rich, and that really concerns me."
Schilling notes that even some Democrats have shown enthusiasm for at least one of his proposals. The platform of Democrats for Change, a now-defunct group active in the 2000 election, called for the direct election of the mayor, and Schilling reminds that two current members of council, Mayor Maurice Cox and Kevin Lynch, ran on the Dems for Change platform.
Actually, "Kevin Lynch was not happy with that plank," recalls D. for C. member David Repass. But Cox "very definitely supported it," he says.
"It's an extremely worthy issue for discussion," says Cox.
But he was not willing to change the direction of the task force assigned to check out moving city elections from May to November. "He brought sweeping proposals that would completely alter the political landscape in Charlottesville," says Cox. "The narrow scope of the task force was deliverable in a period of weeks because data is already collected."
Repass agrees. "I think the reasons they didn't add those items is because it simply would overload the task force."
Schilling estimates that it took him two months and $15,000 to run for office. "That's ridiculous," he says.
He thinks the ward system, which is already used by the School Board and Planning Commission, would make it easier for candidates to run. Instead of having to campaign throughout a city of 40,000 people, they'd have between 6,500 and 10,000 potential constituents.
"When was the last time we had somebody from Belmont?" asks Schilling. "That whole neighborhood is neglected."
Cox disagrees. "I believe we're a small enough population and small enough geographically to run and feel you represent all citizens," says the Mayor. "We don't run into the turf issues that many places with a ward system have."
One reason cities move to wards is to assure minority representation on council, says Cox, who claims that isn't a problem in Charlottesville. Cox is African American.
As for Schilling's charge of elitism, "How would that differ," Cox asks, "if council was elected by ward? There's no question that public service requires an exorbitant amount of time, whether you're elected at-large or by ward."
Any benefit to increasing the size of City Council from five to seven? "Absolutely not," says Cox. "It's difficult enough with five. The last thing we need are more people with a more disparate agenda."
He compares Charlottesville to Albemarle County, which has six supervisors for a population of 90,000. "It's a bit much that a population of 40,000 needs seven to represent it."
But Schilling thinks a bigger council would allow greater distribution of council responsibilities, thus encouraging more citizens to run.
Dem for Change's Kay Peaslee believes an elected mayor would help crush voter apathy. "This I felt was one of the most important things to liven up politics in the city," says Peaslee. She is less supportive of increasing the size of City Council. "The larger number of people on a cabinet, the weaker it is."
Cox, who is expected to announce whether he's running for reelection next week, is open to exploring the idea of a directly elected mayor. "I'm confident that if Rob wanted to work with me to construct a proposal on the best way to bring this to the community, I'd be willing to work with him," he says.
Cox suggests that Schilling's method of presenting his election proposals at the council meeting is why the Republican didn't garner any votes from fellow councilors. "It's kind of hard to sign on to something you've never seen," says Cox.
"I talked to Maurice about electing the mayor a year ago," replies Schilling, who says he prefers talking about issues in public and is "leery of all the behind-closed-doors discussions.
"I'm not going to shut anyone down because they didn't call me in advance," says Schilling. "If an idea is good, it doesn't matter who brought it up."
"He's made it clear in public interviews he's not here to collaborate," says Cox. "If the end goal is to get in the paper, his mission is accomplished. If the end goal is to get attention to a worthy cause, that's the wrong way to do it. He's finding himself in the role of being contrary. That's the thing with majority government. You've got to work with others, or you find your ideas fall flat."
Schilling denies that he's unwilling to collaborate, and mentions that Cox once said in an interview that City Council was better with five Democrats.
To Schilling, there's another reason his ideas are so often shot down by the Democratic majority. "They have a vested interest in not seeing me succeed," claims the lone Republican.
Rob Schilling finds himself in the minority– again.
Mayor Maurice Cox calls Schilling a contrarian.


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David Friedman / NBC News
Lisa Robinson, Kimmarie Keane, Kim Daly and Shiovan Ross, left to right, take part in a vigil on Tuesday, April 16, 2013, in Dorchester, Mass., for the family of 8-year-old Martin Richard, who was killed in the Boston Marathon bombing. The women went to high school with Martin's mother, Denise Richard, who was also injured in the blast.
A grieving Boston community filled a park late Tuesday where a local boy who was killed in the Boston Marathon bombings once played, sending prayers to the family and the neighborhood child as they held candles, joined in prayer and sang "God Bless America."
Three died in the bomb blasts at the Boston Marathon including 8-year-old Martin Richard, the youngest victim, who was remembered by neighbors who left flowers and candles at his family's home. NBC's Katy Tur reports.
Martin Richard, 8, was standing by the finish line with his family Monday afternoon when an explosion tore through the area, killing him and two others, and injuring 176. Richard's mother, Denise, suffered a brain injury and his 6-year-old sister, Jane, reportedly lost a leg. His father, Bill, has asked well-wishers to keep the family in their prayers.
Several hundred mourners gathered in Garvey Park did just that. Pastor John Connolly of St. Brendan's Church led them in prayer and said they had come with "hearts full of sorrow and sadness."
"We come before you (God) as residents of a neighborhood who have been touched all too directly by the reality of violence and evil in our midst," he said. "What once seemed to be something we watched in the distance or on television has come all close to home."
He noted that the park, where youth earlier Tuesday had played lacrosse, was where "the feet of young Martin Richard often trod."
"We are saddened and shattered by the fact that he will no longer run, and smile, and jump, and play, and live, and love among us," he said.
Katie Murphy hugged her three children tightly, kissed them, and also shed tears at the vigil. She said through tears that she came "because my heart was broken."
Her son James, 7, and daughter, Madelyn, 5, played street hockey with Martin last year, though Murphy said they didn't really know the Richard family. But James recognized Martin's photo on news reports and asked why he was in them, leading to a sad conversation.
Bill Richard via AP
This undated photo provided by Bill Richard, shows his son, Martin Richard, in Boston.
"They're in our hearts, and our prayers are with them," Murphy, 41, a nurse, said through soft sobs. "We'll help them get through it, as a community."
Friends and neighbors in the Richard's middle-class neighborhood said earlier in the day that they were stunned by the loss. The Richards were a "typical, all-American, lovely family," neighbor Margaret Admirand said, choking back tears.
"It's devastating. He was an adorable little boy," Admirand said. "It's very hard to talk about. He was a sweet little kid."
Neighbors said Bill and Denise are very active in neighborhood groups, and the children were sporty, playing basketball, hockey and soccer. Another neighbor, Beth Nagy, 48, said the daughter, Jane, had won a medal at a kid's running event on Saturday that she was so excited about.
"They're a wonderful family. … Active community wise and physically running around," she said, adding, "We just saw him (Martin) yesterday."
Some of Denise Richard's high school friends from Mount Saint Joseph Academy joined the vigil, and recalled that in school she was soft-spoken, always smiling, pals with everyone and intelligent. They hadn't seen her recently but had been in touch as they organized their 25th high school reunion to take place in October.
Martin Richard, the young victim of the Boston Marathon bombing, is described by his neighbor, Jane Sherman.
"Quite a turnout," said one of them, Lisa Robinson. "It shows you how much (they) were loved."
Earlier Tuesday, Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts described what happened at the marathon after speaking to the dad.
"The kids were all up on the barrier" as runners streamed in, Lynch said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "They were all focused forward and the blast came from the back and the side."
"The dad is a runner, but he wasn't running yesterday," Lynch said. "They were there to support some of their friends who were running."
Friend of the family James Keefe told the Dorchester Reporter he was near the finish line when the blasts went off.
"I heard this earth-shattering boom. I turned and saw this plume and then I heard a second boom, just as loud and earth-shattering," Keefe said. "I almost blacked out from fear."
The boy's father was on a neighborhood committee to refurbish the Ashmont T station, said friend Kevin Skinner. He serves on the board of directors of St. Mark's Area Main Street, according to the community organization's website.
"If it was a car accident you would say it was tragic," Skinner said. "But this didn't have to happen."
Friends of the family gathered at Tavolo restaurant on Monday night in Dorchester. Denise Richard is a school librarian at the local Neighborhood House Charter School, where Martin attended as well as his sister Jane. The flag at the school flew at half-mast on Tuesday.
Jared Wickerham / Getty Images
A Boston Police officer lifts the tape for a family to leave flowers in front of the home of the Richard family.
Denise Richard is on the executive board of the Ashmont Adams Neighborhood Association, according to the organization's website. She bakes goodies for school events, and is always "proud as a peacock" to walk around the neighborhood with her kids in tow, her neighbor Admirand said.
"We think of the Richard family as one unit," said Bill Forry, editor of the local Dorchester Reporter and a friend of the family said on Tuesday. "For them not to be one now is the hardest thing for us to get our heads around. In addition to the grief of losing Martin, it's that that family has been so badly wounded. "
"They are beloved by this community. They contribute in many ways. That's why you see this outpouring," City Councilor at Large Ayanna Pressley told the Boston Globe. "It's surreal, it's tragic, it's incomprehensible. Everyone here tonight is trying to comfort one another and be prayerful."
Well wishers left a few bouquets and a small stuffed bear on the stoop of the family's home early Tuesday. One word was written in chalk on the front walk: "Peace."
Charles Krupa / AP
See images from the scene of the explosions.
PhotoBlog: Vigil honors bombing victims
Boston Marathon explosions caught on video
Good Samaritans take in Boston marathoners: 'You're not in it alone'
NBC News' full coverage of the Boston Marathon tragedy
This story was originally published on Tue Apr 16, 2013 7:21 AM EDT


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Hi I just started learning C++. The compiler I use in college is turbo C++ and at home I'm testing the free trial of Borland builder enterprise. All I use in school is #include<iostream> and main() in a very simple program that calculates the of sum a+b.
When I open Borland builder, there's already some code on it, if I delete it, I get compile errors; If I leave it and put my little program below, it compiles but the .exe file that comes up doesn't work at all.
This same program was ran perfectly by Turbo C++ and the .exe file worked well. Any one have any ideas on how to work with Borland builder enterprise to do the simplest programs?
Any feedback is very well appreciated.


text: The book Change your thinking : positive and practical ways to overcome stress, negative emotions and self-defeating behaviour using CBT has 12 chapters with exercises and is based on the principles of Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). It shows how to use these principles to deal with difficult emotions such as anger, depression, anxiety and frustration. It helps us deal with complicated thoughts and feelings we experience in day to day life. Some of the chapters also deal with maintaining self-esteem, effective communication and mindfulness.I found this book to be a great reference book on CBT. It has great exercises to work through and everyday life examples which made the content easy to relate to. I especially found the mindfulness chapter very useful.


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Forum Home > Regional > Africa
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Senior Member
Joined: 10 October 2006
Location: Neutral Zone
Status: Offline
Points: 561
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Posted: 13 October 2006 at 10:00pm
I am interested in sharing the brilliant and complex life of Muslims within
If there are Moroccans out there...We could open some minds about the
If you have travelled to Morocco and are confused or excited or inspired,
etc.... your thoughts could be enlightening...
The post shall begin with this... from the onset of Morocco's history -
the creation of the Moorish empire and the great Moorish scholars,
doctors, religious thinkers - there has been music here. Music - which
seems to be a source of controversy and inspires the cutting and pasting
of massive condemning hadiths.
A Moroccan muslim can natively teach to pray, read and breathe the
Quran, speak in the classical Arabic - living in an almost entirely Muslim
country... living Islam.
These people have been Muslim for almost as long as there has been
Islam (Fes, for example, was being built around 708... Muslims came in
In the face of such a history, does it ever give the Muslim critic of music
pause - to suspend judgement?
Senior Member
Joined: 12 September 2006
Location: Malaysia
Status: Offline
Points: 136
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Warmest peace My dear Jamal Morelli,
Morocco is never absent from my heart and my being as long the winds blow from Atlas mountains and the spring waters of old Fez flowing to the fountains and wash the faithful souls there day and night. Now I have to establish my pedigree with this blessed Maghrib and land of many Awliyas and Shuyukh :
a. My shaykh first master was Sh.Muhammad ibn al-Habib of Meknes from the Shadhili Darqawi Tariq which still got many muqaddims across the whole of Morocco. We in Malaysia still sing his beauntiful Diwan/Qasida Bughyatul salikina muridina wa Tuhfatul Salikina Arifin.
b. I still read the Dalailul Khayrat of Sh Jazuli very famous in Morocco and also sometime the Burdah of Sh Busiri.
c. I had met four Malaysian fuqara who visit many parts of Morocco including Fez, Meknes, Tafilalet, Casablanca etc where they eat coucous and honey and arrived at Sidi Muhammad Kursi zawiya at a remote desert village.
d. I shared many fond memories with Abdal Hayy Daniel Moore who gave us deep insight with his posting Amin Journey To Qalbiyya.
e. During my hajj in 2004 in Makkah and madinah , we met, embraced and kissed many Moroccoan hajjis and sang a few qasidas to them, this from the land of my teacher Shaykh.
f. We cannot forget about the great sufi Shaykh Mulay Arabi ad-Darqawi who influence, fuqara and teachings spread as far as Malays islands in the late 1700s. A malay translation of Rasail Darqawiyya was printed in 1980 and we heard a Darqawi zawiya do exist in Bangkok many years ago.
g. My close friend Dr.Fuad Yeoh an engineer married a beautiful wife from Maghrib and now got 3 children and he polished his arabic very well.
h. I bought many dozens of Darqawi/black moroccan tasbih in Makkah/Madinah as gift to my friends as reminder and baraka of the holy land. Each tasbih was brought daily into Masjidil haram or Masjid Nabawi to partake the zikr and prayer there. At least the air, dust and wind or aura of this blessed place were united with my tasbih and passed on to unsuspected hands later.
Rumi sings: Come, come whoever you are
never despair and the Friend is there
waiting for strangers and seekers ..oh my Morocco.
abuzuhri shin
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text:
Eyelid problems
What to do if you have a lump on your eyelid, or an eyelid that's swollen, sticky, itchy, drooping or twitching.
Most eyelid problems are harmless
Many eyelid problems are not serious.
It's fairly common to have any of these problems:
- a lump that goes away by itself after 3 or 4 weeks
- mildly itchy, flaky or sticky eyelids that clear up by themselves
- swelling from a nearby insect bite, injury or operation that goes away after a week or so
- twitching or blinking from time to time – often when you're tired
- eyelids that droop (or get more "hooded") as you grow older
How a pharmacist can help with eyelid problems
A pharmacist might be able to tell you:
- what you can do to treat it yourself
- if you can buy anything to help, for example cleaning solutions for sticky eyelids
- if you need to see an optician or GP
Non-urgent advice: See a GP if:
- you're worried about an eyelid problem
- you think it's an allergic reaction
- it's getting worse or lasting a long time
- your eyelid is painful or you're in a lot of discomfort
- you have yellow lumps or patches around your eyes
- you have a rash on your body as well as lumps on your eyelids
- you have a very high temperature, or feel hot and shivery, or you generally feel unwell
- the side of your neck, armpits or groin feel swollen and painful (swollen lymph nodes)
Urgent advice: Get advice from 111 now if:
- your swollen eyelid is red, hot, painful, tender or blistered
- your eyelid droops suddenly
- the pain is in your eye (not your eyelid)
- the white of your eye is very red, in part or all over
- you're sensitive to light (photophobia)
- your eyesight changes – for example, you see wavy lines or flashing
- you have difficulty breathing
- your mouth or tongue is swollen
- you're lightheaded or confused
- you feel faint or like you might collapse
- you have blue skin or lips
111 will tell you what to do. They can arrange a phone call from a nurse or doctor if you need one.
Other ways to get help
Get an urgent GP appointment
A GP may be able to help you.
Ask your GP practice for an urgent appointment.
Causes of eyelid problems
Your symptoms might give you an idea of the cause. Do not self-diagnose – see a GP if you're worried.


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Tempo Social
versão impressa ISSN 0103-2070versão On-line ISSN 1809-4554
GUIMARAES, Antonio Sérgio Alfredo. After racial democracy. Tempo soc. [online]. 2006, vol.18, n.2, pp.269-287. ISSN 1809-4554. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-20702006000200014.
In this article, I trace a scenario that is becoming increasingly actual and close to Brazilians. In that scenario racial inequalities coexist with a popular state regime in which Black NGOs participate in the implementation of multicultural policies and racial democracy ceases to be a hegemonic discourse. We have acquired consciousness of the limitations of our democracy, of the multicultural nature of our national formation, and of our invidious system of racial inequalities, but we are not successful in stopping it from reproducing itself. I take this scenario as an occasion to point to two current misinterpretations in the sociological literature: neither are racial inequalities in Brazil the product of racial democracy, neither can racial inequalities result from the mere existence of racial categories.
Palavras-chave : Racial democracy; Racial inequalities; Multiculturalism; Popular State.


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Eugene Polley dies at 96; inventor of wireless TV remote control
Polley's Flash-Matic was considered a luxury when it debuted in 1955, but its popularity has been tied to the explosion in cable TV. Polley felt he did not receive proper credit for his invention.
Eugene Polley, inventor of the first wireless channel changer, a precursor to the remote control that surfers use to navigate the 500-plus channels offered by modern television, has died. He was 96.
Polley died of natural causes Sunday at a hospital in Downers Grove, Ill., according to Zenith Electronics, where he worked from 1935 to 1982.
Today's remote control is standard operating equipment.
But for years after Polley's Flash-Matic debuted in 1955, it was considered a luxury option. Its ascendancy is tied to the explosion of cable television, said John Taylor, a spokesman for Zenith.
"It's hard to even fathom the world today without the remote control," Taylor said. "Today it's not a luxury, it's not a convenience — it is a necessity."
Polley long felt he was denied proper credit for the remote control, said his son, Eugene Polley Jr.
The remote he invented used a beam of light directed at sensors in the corners of the set to change channels or turn the picture and sound on and off.
A year later, another Zenith researcher, Robert Adler, a Viennese-born physicist, developed the Space Command remote. The Space Command relied on a series of high-frequency chimes that keyed a sensor to change channels. Both devices had drawbacks, but Adler's design was embraced by Zenith.
Today's infrared signal remotes, however, have more in common with Polley's device, Taylor said.
Polley and Adler, who died in 2007, shared an Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 1997 for their contributions to Zenith's introduction of the wireless remote.
But Polley for years felt Adler grabbed too much of the limelight, his son said. For example, it was Adler who once made an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
"Not only did I not get credit for doing anything," the elder Polley told the Chicago Tribune in 2006. "I got a kick in the rear end."
"My father's point of view was that when somebody came up with the jet engine for the airplane, he didn't take credit away from the Wright Brothers," his son said. "But Bob Adler tried to steal his thunder as the inventor of the remote control."
Zenith takes a diplomatic view on the device's origins.
"I think that there's no question that Gene Polley is the father of the wireless remote control," Taylor said. "There are some news reports that made it seem like he was overshadowed by Dr. Robert Adler. Zenith always considered them the co-inventors."
Some speculated that Polley's sensitivity over credit may have stemmed from a class-born grudge. He dropped out of college after two years, while Adler held a doctorate from the University of Vienna.
Polley was born Nov. 29, 1915, in Chicago to a mother who was shunned by her well-to-do family because of her relationship with his father, a "ne'er do well" bootlegger, Polley's son said.
His parents separated when Polley was a boy and his mother, Vera Wachowski, struggled to get by on her own. Polley, who demonstrated a remarkable mechanical aptitude from an early age, found a job as a parts clerk for Zenith Radio Corp. in 1935.
From the stockroom, he rose through Zenith's engineering department, holding positions including product engineer and assistant division chief for the mechanical engineering group. Over the years his inventions earned 18 U.S. patents, and he worked on devices including push-button radios for automobiles, according to Zenith.
Adler, who before his death acknowledged that Polley did not get enough credit for the remote control, considered the remote control one of his lesser inventions.
Polley had no such misgivings about the importance of the remote.
"This is the greatest thing since the wheel," he told the Tribune upon Adler's death in 2007. "We did something for humanity."
Polley, a resident of Lombard, Ill., was preceded in death by his wife, Blanche, and a daughter, Joan. In addition to his son, Eugene Jr. of San Diego, he is survived by a grandson.


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High Expectations for Rome March for Life 2013
"Extraordinary number" of participants from all over the world expected
This year's March for Life in Rome is already attracting "an extraordinary number" of participants from all over the world, according to the website Corrispondenza Romana, promising to make it one of Europe's largest pro-life rallies.
The Rome March for Life, just the second of its kind to be held in the Eternal City, will take place on May 12th. The route, which lasts about a mile, begins at the Colosseum at 9am, passes through downtown Rome, and ends at Castel Sant'Angelo near the Vatican in time for the Holy Father's Sunday Angelus address in St. Peter's Square.
Last year's event "exceeded all expectations", according to its organisers, attracting an estimated 15,000 people from around the world. One of the guest speakers was Dr. Gianna Emanuela Molla, daughter of St. Gianna Beretta Molla, who was canonized in 2004 for choosing to give her own life over having Gianna Emanuela aborted.
In an article published in Corrispondenza Romana, Federico Catani lists the international pro-life organisations that have pledged to participate in this year's march. Among them are a significant number of U.S. organisations:
American Life League, Americans United for Life, Human Life International, Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute, Choose Life America, Catholics for Freedom of Religion, Moral Consensus Forum, CrossRoads-Pro-life Walks Across America, Alabama Physicians For Life, Family of the Americas Foundation, Life Site News, Precious Life Missions, Priests for Life, The Life Guardian Foundation, World Congress of Family News;
From France, there is Chosir la Vie, Chrétienté-Solidarité, Droit de Naître, Renaissance Catholique, SOS-Tout Petits;
From other countries these organisations have pledged to take part: the Australian Family Association and l'Accademia Letteraria Italo-Australiana Scrittori; the Belgian Fédération mondiale des médecins pour le respect de la vie humaine, Belgian March for Life, Fédération Pro-Europa Christiana, Katholiek lebenforum; and the German Aktion SOS Leben. The Polish groups Civitas Christiana and Piotr Skarga, the Portugese organization Alternativa Portugal, the Czech Association for Life and the Spanish Derecho a vivir-Barcelona e Sacerdotes por la Vida will also all be attending.
"The March for Life is thus becoming more integrated into all the pro-life events that take place throughout Europe and the United States," Catani said.
Dr. Virginia Coda Nunziante, chair of the organizing committee for the March for Life, said: "We hope that the necessity of large public demonstrations in defense of life is becoming better understood. The March for Life wants above all to express our protest against the killing of innocents, which was legalized in Italy by Law 194 of May 22, 1978. Our rejection of abortion, and the law that legalized it, is total, without exception and without compromise. This is the main common denominator of those who will be in Rome on May 12. "
Many initiatives are also planned for the day before the march: a conference at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum at which the archbishops of Bologna and Trieste, Mons. Cardinal Carlo Caffarra and Giampaolo Crepaldi, will speak. Cardinal Raymond Burke will also lead a prayer vigil. As last year, the march will also include a number of other bishops and cardinals, some of whom have already confirmed their presence.


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My alarm clock died long ago. Since then, I use my cellphone to wake me up. Works ok, except that my current cellphone is total crap and, among numerous issues, its alarm software some morning just stays idle while, the others days when it actually works, a simple movement shuts it off. Believe me, I checked everything, made plenty of test, it's just bad design and poorly coded software.
Not to mention that I usually wake up with no alarm; so when I use one, it means that I must wake up early, probably with not enough sleep at all. I need the real deal, high sound level and no shortcut to kill it, to actually get up.
Whenever I needed an alarm, I ended up running, on my laptop not to far from my bed, some `sleep XXh XXm && mplayer /path/to/a/song`, check sound volume, followed by CTRL-C in the morning.
Two days ago, I was über-tired, I needed to wake up early next morning and calculating tomorrow waking up time – current time just pissed me off, not to mention checking the volume level, mute setting and such. It pissed me enough to decide me to write a script to fix the problem. Here comes wakey.pl:
- it takes as argument the time you'd like to wake up in the form HH:MM or HHh MMm ;
- it can run as timer (as sleep), useful if you want to take 20min nap, with -t or –timer ;
- it wakes you up playing a random song picked in ~/.wakey ;
- it uses mplayer to play the song, so it can be in any format your mplayer supports ;
- it raises progressively the sound volume when trying to wake you up (you can set –volume-max, in case 100% on Master mixer is too loud) and reset properly mixer settings when finished ;
- it won't stop playing the music until you type a 3 to 5 characters word randomly taken from the defaut dictionary installed on your system (/usr/share/dict/words).
I wanted it to deal with any powersave setup to make sure to forbid the laptop to sleep or hibernate, but I found not portable and clean way to do it (my laptop uses KDE with PowerDevil). I'd be happy to hear about any clue/lead in the regard.
# (this assume wakey.pl is executable and in $PATH) # wakes you up next time its 6 in the morning: wakey.pl 06:00 # the same wakey.pl 6h # wakes you up exactly in 15 minutes wakey.pl -t :15 # the same wakey.l 15m --timer # the same but make sure the sound volume wont exceed 70% wakey.l 15m -t -v 70
To run it, make sure you have debian packages libfile-homedir-perl and libterm-readkey-perl installed. You'll also need mplayer and amixer properly set up.


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Fee Databases
You library pays the fee for many
The information in some databases is protected by passwords or require a subscription or fee.
Suppose you need to find an article in a scholarly journal. A search engine is not the best tool for this type of information need. Instead, go to the library's web site, pick a database and click on the name.
If you're on campus, you'll probably go right into the database when you click on it. If you're off campus, you'll probably have to enter a user name and ID#. If you don't know what to enter, ask your college librarian.
Neither Google nor any other search engine can get past the password box. The information in ProQuest is too deep for a search engine to search. ProQuest and similar periodicals databases are part of the fee deep Web.Next >>


text: Ms. Lopez focuses on complex civil and criminal litigation at all stages, from trial through appeal. Her practice areas include foreign sovereign immunity law, commercial litigation, international law, cultural heritage law, white collar criminal defense, and appellate law. Ms. Lopez has argued appeals and motions in federal and state courts, including in the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Ninth Circuit, and the Second Circuit. From 2002-04, she clerked for the Honorable Gregory A. Presnell of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.


text: You do not have any items in your Shopping Bag Home Women Shirts - Tops Back to search results for "" Previous item Next item Click to zoom Previous Next Previous Next Beginning of layer content. Close End of layer content. Vest $ 940 Color Color Color Please select size Please select color Size (KR) Size Size Selected combination - Add to bag Wish List Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Product details LaméLightweight sweaterDeep necklineSleeveless Composition: 80% Rayon, 20% Polyester Size & fit Fits true to size. Choose your normal size. Size guide Product Code MDK00091BK00MNL401B Shipping & Returns We offer a speedy Express shipping service for any address. We also provide an easy return service: just ship your items back to us using the UPS return label included in your package within 30 days from delivery. Read more in the Return Center.


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"Everyone pays their fair share. Everyone does their part," said President Obama after Congress extended most of the Bush tax cuts at the last minute.
Let's look at the effect of the fiscal cliff deal on two hypothetical taxpayers representing large groups of real people.
Amy is a freelance graphic designer making $50,000 annually. Her Social Security tax has just risen by two percentage points, from 10.4% to 12.4%.
Ben is a business executive making $200,000 annually. His Social Security tax has just gone up by 1.1% of total income, maxing out at 6.2% of wages up to $113,700.
Anything above that cap is not subject to the Social Security tax. And Ben's employer pays an equal share, while Amy is responsible for both the employee and employer portions.
The increase in the payroll tax will be the fiscal cliff's sole effect on Ben's and Amy's tax burden. Amy will pay $5,726 in Social Security taxes this year. Ben, who will gross four times what Amy does, will pay $7,049, just like Warren Buffett.
Does that sound fair?
Not to Milton Friedman, who called the contribution scheme needlessly regressive as part of his attack on Social Security. That was in 1962. Since then, payroll taxes have only become much less equitable. As the rate kicking in with the first dollar of earned income has shot up, payroll levies have become a much bigger part of the total tax burden.
Ostensibly, the contribution is capped because so are the benefits, under a formula designed to make Social Security resemble a contribution pension scheme, even though it's nothing of the sort.
Amy and Ben aren't contributing toward their own Social Security benefits. Instead, they are funding the benefits already going out the door. And it's not clear why this burden must be shouldered based on a benefits formula that may or may not apply down the line rather than their present means.
As a presidential candidate in 2007, Barack Obama initially supported doing away with a payroll tax cap. "Only 6% of Americans make more than $97,000—so 6% is not the middle class—it's the upper class," he said at a debate in Las Vegas. But Hillary Clinton accused him of advocating a trillion-dollar tax increase on "middle-class families" like those of firefighters and school supervisors, and so Obama eventually said additional payroll taxes only ought to be imposed on income above $250,000, the total he'd already promised to shield from higher taxes.
Of course, a position that proved controversial in the Democratic primary never had a chance in Congress. Nevertheless Obama revisited the cap hike in September while addressing a forum sponsored by the American Association of Retired Persons, minus pesky details. And then he went out and secured a regressive payroll tax hike for everyone.
The next time Obama returns to the subject will be, I imagine, in his memoirs. He's a centrist and a pragmatist, after all, and plenty of Democrats from affluent blue states can't stomach a 6.2% tax increase, be it on incomes above $113,700 or $250,000.
But the Congressional Research Service found in 2010 that doing away with the payroll tax cap would keep Social Security solvent for at least the next 75 years. Remember that the next time someone claims the only way to put things right is to curb benefits.
Correction: The Medicare tax is not subject to the income cap. All numbers in this post have been updated accordingly.


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It's been great to hear from so many of our alumni -- and we want to hear from you, too! Fill out the form below to keep us updated on all your successes since leaving Ithaca College.
And if you're willing to share a recent picture with us, please e-mail that to Rebecca Lesses.


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ATL's swankier Super Cell is FIA FT3 rated and features a tough 3-layer soft rubberized bladder, ballistic nylon reinforcing, SF-103 foam baffling, and full coating inside and out. It comes with a lightweight TF600 aluminum fill plate with twist cap, 20-gauge powdercoated steel case, #6 ScavenJet II pickup, #6 vent check valve, and #6 dipstick. These cells carry a five-year limited warranty from ATL and are shipped with two "Gerald R Ford Memorial Pardons," which gets your team out of the penalty box (twice) free. Measures 20x18x10".


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- 100% Cotton Sateen Tablecloth
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The luxe, heavy cotton sateen Malay tablecloth will elevate your round dining table with one-of-a-kind pattern and color. The Malay tablecloth is made of our durable, wrinkle-resistant, Luxe Cotton Sateen and features a double folded 1/2" hem with topstitching thread chosen from a limited color set to best match the design.
Mix-and-match with our Amarela dinner napkins for a genuinely unique tablescape. Available in 2 sizes with your selected design featured on one side.
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If you have sizing questions, we would be happy to help! Shoot us an email at firstname.lastname@example.com
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Luxe Cotton Sateen - Luxe heavy cotton sateen is machine washable and wrinkle-resistant. All-natural, 100% cotton fabric is perfect for casual and elegant tables alike.


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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Three days and counting until government-wide budget cuts begin to hit home.
There's a lot on the chopping block, including education, and local leaders are beginning to weigh in on the impact.
Mayor Alving Brown remains cautiously optimistic -- confident Duval County can survive the sequester. But school district officials sit on the edge of their seats, knowing Florida schools could lose more than $80 million just this year.
A new report from the White House reveals the impacts of the so-called sequester on each state if a deal isn't reached by Friday.
Florida stands to lose more than $54 million in funding for primary and secondary education and more than $30 million in funds to education for children with disabilities.
"I'm very optimistic that when its all said and done, we will have all the resources we need to compete and provide the service for our students, our teachers and our administrators," Mayor Brown said.
Mayor Brown said he believes in Jacksonville's education system and isn't too concerned about the cuts just yet.
Superintendent of Duval County Public Schools, Nikolai Vitti, said the cuts would impact the students who can least afford it.
"In November, our School Board, like school districts across the country, approved a resolution in response to federal budget sequestration," Dr. Vitti said. "While we are unable to predict how the anticipated sequestration would impact our district, we are convinced that it would cause reductions to a wide variety of support to our most at-risk students, communities, and schools."
According to the White House, 6,250 fewer low income students in Florida would receive aid to help them finance the costs of college.
While the district is never happy to make cuts, it's already preparing something Mayor Brown believes will sustain education in Jacksonville.
"When it comes to education, we're committed in Jacksonville to education," Mayor Brown said. "I believe with all of us, with all of us working together, we're going to make sure that we provide the best education system to our local students."
It's a wait and see kind of attitude for most people because everyone would be affected.
From education to aviation security, many could soon be affected if these automatic cuts go into effect at the end of the week.


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Scott Penrose and Steve Short have recently completed the book that Alan had started about his life, career and his magic. The book titled 'Alan Shaxon - The Sophisticated Sorcerer' The Life and Magic of an International Magician will be published very soon and this accompanying lecture will give an interesting insight into the life of one of magic's legends.
During the first half, Steve will talk about Alan's life and career with a PowerPoint presentation and video clips. After the break, Scott will show and explain some of Alan's effects all of which are "workers". They are not pipe dreams as Alan had performed them hundreds of times and had ironed out any problems during countless performances.
The book has over 220 pages over 80 photographs, fully illustrated by Scott and 29 effects featuring Confabulation, Aerial Fishing, The Hydrostatic Glass and The Ultimate Nudist Deck. Many other feature effects including mind reading, close-up and many routines for children's entertainers.


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I have over 40 years as an educator, working with students grades K-7. (not done yet! I'm tutoring little readers, and loving it!) Taught music, grade 2, 3, 4, 6 as a generalist, as well as worked as a teacher librarian. Have been published, and continue to publish resources for literacy skill development. I worked with curriculum design and development at local and provincial level for five years, and there learned so much more about lesson and unit design. I have also worked at the university level as a student teacher field services facilitator. I recently retired from a K-9 charter school, where I mentored teachers in lesson design, classroom management, literacy skill integration across the curriculum as well as developed an assessment approach. This approach enabled teachers to be more intentional about their classroom delivery to ensure struggling students would get the support needed for success in their learning. Since 1978, I have led workshops for teachers and home schooling parents throughout Canada, the US and Singapore. I continue to work with children wherever I can, because once a teachers, always a teacher!
Ecclectic, inspiring, multi-dimensional
Yet to be added
Yet to be added
check out my biography at www.uotter.com
PreK, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, Adult Education, Homeschool
English Language Arts, Balanced Literacy, Specialty, Science, Social Studies - History, World History, Arts & Music, Vocal Music, Drama, Life Skills, Religion, Literature, Character Education, Reading Strategies, Holidays/Seasonal, Christmas/ Chanukah/ Kwanzaa, Poetry, Halloween, Speech Therapy, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Spring, Earth Day, Summer


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From acclaimed animation director Genndy Tartakovsky comes the new family comedy, Hotel Transylvania, featuring the voice talents of Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg and Selena Gomez. The picture centers on Dracula (Sandler), who runs a resort for monsters and goes into over-protective parent mode when a human boy (Samberg) shows up and courts his daughter (Gomez). Eight new colorful character posters are now available for your viewing pleasure.
Steve Buscemi, Kevin James, Fran Drescher, David Spade, CeeLo Green and Molly Shannon also lend their voices to Hotel Transylvania, which opens September 28th. Hit the jump to see the posters.
Check out the new character posters along with a couple of new images (via Yahoo) after the film's official synopsis:
Welcome to the Hotel Transylvania, Dracula's (Adam Sandler) lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up, free to be the monsters they are without humans to bother them. On one special weekend, Dracula has invited some of the world's most famous monsters – Frankenstein and his bride, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, a family of werewolves, and more – to celebrate his daughter Mavis's 118th birthday. For Drac, catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem – but his world could come crashing down when one ordinary guy stumbles on the hotel and takes a shine to Mavis.


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Club membership is down for Bobbi Hayes, owner of Bulldog Interactive Fitness, a Canadian-based interactive fitness facility franchise designed for youth ages 3 to teens. Despite initial growth when she opened in 2007, the recession has cooled that growth today as many families deal with layoffs or reduced hours and pay.
"As parents do not understand the need for daily fitness, [club membership] was one of the first things to cut in their budgets," she says.
However, that doesn't mean that Hayes has given up on her vision of using active gaming to help children get fit. In fact, Hayes has incorporated more interactive gaming into her club's programming.
"We offer many programs and classes like yoga and step class ultimate fitness. Some include the interactive [element], like climbing, rowing or biking challenges," she says. "Every month, we have a different challenge, such as row to Cuba, bike to the North Pole or climb Mount Everest — and the kids love them."
And it also hasn't stopped other club operators from looking at active gaming to attract family memberships while dealing with the obesity problem.
Data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (1976-1980 and 2003-2006) show that the prevalence of obesity has increased. For children aged 2 to 5 years, obesity increased from 5 percent to 12.4 percent. For those aged 6 to 11 years, the prevalence of obesity increased from 6.5 percent to 17 percent. For those aged 12 to 19 years, that prevalence increased from 5 percent to 17.6 percent.
Those numbers are bound to rise as families have to cut back on activities and increase their consumption of cheaper (and, often, less healthy) food. Families that are working longer hours to make ends meet often turn to fast food for quick meals.
The need to combat childhood obesity is still a main driver for getting involved in children's fitness programming and exergaming. That need seems to be a long-term one that can fuel revenues and memberships for years to come.
For Kids' Sake
Greenwood Athletic and Tennis Club in Greenwood Village, CO, opened an interactive gaming center this past June. The 2,100-square-foot environment is an "advanced active gaming and entertainment system where kids and adults can become a human joystick" using both brain and body, according to the company.
In the club's active gaming area, users can enjoy snowboarding, a popular dance-based game, rock climbing, boxing, four-wheel racing, jet skiing and riding the Tour de France on virtual reality bikes — all while working out.
According to Paula Neubert, general manager, the new gaming center is a place for members, aged 5 and up, to have fun in a safe, friendly and supervised workout environment.
Even though the whole family can enjoy exergaming, Hayes says her club was designed to give kids their own place for physical fitness. Her facility offers a dance-based game, Wii, game bikes and rowing machines with interactive monitors, among other options.
"We opened the club because kids perform better when they are away from adults. [They] need a place just for them to be themselves," says Hayes. "[There is a need] to combat childhood obesity and to develop social skills amongst children."
The Briar Club, a member-owned social club in Houston that added interactive gaming this March to its 18,000-square-foot fitness center, has experienced an increase in children's participation and membership since it added the exergames, says Rich Andrae, wellness and recreation director at the club. The equipment includes two stations for a dance-based game and a snowboarding station, among the offerings.
"In the first 60 days, we did over 800 orientations," Andrae says. "Now, it is at 40 to 50 visits a day. In the fitness center, we probably get 250 to 300 visits per day."
With sales of Wii Fit topping more than 20 million units sold worldwide (just under 9 million in the Americas), along with the success of some of the interactive games in traditional arcade settings, it is not hard to see the potential success in the merging of gaming and fitness in facilities across North America.
Although it does not use its interactive gaming area as a profit center, Centegra Health Bridge Fitness Center in Chrystal, IL, continues to grow its interactive gaming options, which it first started a few years ago.
"[Interactive gaming has] diversified our activity offerings," says Lisa Gasior of Centegra Health Bridge Fitness Center. "The older children enjoy the interaction and variety of games, and the interactive technology produces a recreational experience that provides hours of fun for toddlers up to adults."
Gamers of All Ages
Appealing to all ages may in the long run be a tremendous benefit to the facilities that are early adopters of interactive gaming. This approach can help recoup the dollars spent on games in a combination of fitness and gaming.
In fact, statistics from the market research firm the NPD Group show that the number of Americans who play video games has surpassed the number who go to movies. In a survey of more than 11,000 people, 63 percent had played a video game within the past six months, while only 53 percent had gone to a movie. They also found that the purchase of game consoles was on the rise, as were new methods of accessing the games themselves, such as playing over a social networking site or downloading a game onto a mobile phone.
The report found that in the first three months of 2009, the average gamer spent a little more than $38 per month on all types of gaming content, which is about the cost of an average fitness facility membership. One-third of monthly U.S. consumer spending for core entertainment was video games, according to the study.Continue on Page 2
With so many people of all ages classified as "gamers," it's no wonder that some facilities are turning to interactive gaming as a way to reach adults and non-traditional exercisers.
While looking for something new and different for its members, The Betty and Milton Katz Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Cherry Hill, NJ, purchased several new interactive gaming bikes last March. The JCC caters to members aged 14 and up.
"People who did no cardio are hooked on them, and the traditional bikers love it," says Margie Hess, fitness director of the Katz JCC.
In fact, Hess says that the programming built around the bikes has been immensely popular. The facility placed first in miles logged during a nationwide contest run by the bikes' manufacturer.
"While treadmills and ellipticals still lead the way, the new bikes are very popular," says Hess. "They are in use all day long, and the members love them."
Centegra Health Bridge Fitness Center has programming for children beyond interactive gaming. However, Gasior has seen a decrease in children's participation in many areas — that is, except for interactive fitness.
"We offer many children's programs from yoga to Pilates to dance-based fitness, and they are popular, but the [gaming] system is used all day long. It is the most popular activity we have in our child center," Gasior says.
Even though children are the main audience for interactive gaming, keeping adults — especially adults who are parents — aware of interactive gaming options and benefits is important. After all, children must rely on their parents to get them to the club. Without that buy-in, the effectiveness of any exergaming program at fitness facilities is minimal.
But how does a club do this when finances are tight for parents? Offering different membership options for exergaming has helped Hayes overcome this obstacle.
"While we offer a one-month trial, a three-month membership and a yearly membership, our drop-in option is our most popular," says Hayes. "Parents do not recognize the need for children to develop a healthy lifestyle through daily exercise yet, but hopefully, when they see it is fun for the whole family, they will."
"Active Games Burn Up to Three Times the Calories of Hand-Held Games"


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